Remember My Pride
by Vriell the Black Knight
Summary: Though it does follow a story line, this is more a series of one-shots based on the childhood events of Simba and Nala. Eventually this should reach to the end of the movie if my plans go correctly.
1. The Essence of Water

A/N: I kind of feel bad that I seem to neglect fics for long periods of time, which is why I'm going to try and make this more of a series of one-shots rather than an actual on-going story. I hope you guys like it. I just need you to know that I have not watched the Lion King since it came out on DVD so my memory is a little fuzzy.

The Essence of Water

The Pride Lands were rejoicing! All animals, predators and prey alike, were celebrating the birth of the new king. All animals of different shapes, colors, and definition were gathered under the authoritive figure of Pride Rock. At the ridge of this regal structure stood a beautiful lioness, who was all but content at the sight of the entire land gathering to see who their new king will be. Looking up with great expectation, and hoping that this cub will be every bit a great ruler as his father was...is. Zebras, Giraffes, Elephants, even Meerkats were there to celebrate, bringing pride to the lioness. She could still remember when she had first met current ruler of this land. He had always been shy, but had a heart of gold. This was what turned her small crush into full blown love by the time they were adults. If she were a cub and someone had told her that she would bear Mufasa's son, she would have laughed bitterly in their face believing with all her heart that it would have been the fairer Sarafina. But no, he chose her, Sarabi, to be his queen and rule over this beautiful land and aid in what has been the most successful reigns of all time. The queen smiled as Rafiki, the Pride Shaman, gently took her young cub and walked slowly to the edge of Pride Rock, where adoring eyes came to greet the barely open ones of Simba, the new heir to the throne. Upon seeing the prince, every single animal bowed to the best of their ability. It truly was a beautiful sight, watching animals that knew you would eventually hunt and eat bow before her newborn son. It was a moment of true peace that could not be broken...

Unbeknownst to most people, another very important event happened only several hours later. Sarafina had gone into labor and delivered a beautiful baby girl that looked just like her mother, but with her father's eyes. They named her Nala, and she would single-handedly become the most important lioness of her generation even though people highly doubted that she would amount to anything. Her father was a rogue who had wandered near the Pride Lands and Sarafina still heartbroken over the fact that Mufasa had chosen Sarabi over her, thought that this dashing lion was perfect for her. The rogue lion, named Onyama, had died several months after impregnating the lioness from a disease that was spread by insects with wings and needles for mouths.

Mufasa, being a great friend of Sarafina's even after she confessed that she loved him, often asked her to bring Nala to the main part of the den so the two cubs could play together and never feel the loneliness of being only children. They learned how to walk together, they learned how to speak together, and they learned how to communicate with each other. As years went by, these two cubs were nearly inseperable, and many expected that this little bastard cub would become queen of the Pride Lands...

(This is the actual beginning of the oneshot)

Two young sets of paws were racing down the fertile dirt of the Pride Lands.

"Come on Nala, I found this cool place!" a voice, undeniably the prince of Pride Rock himself, Simba, yelled behind him.

"Hey," Nala replied, "the sun's barely peeking over the horizon. Half the pride is still asleep."

"Yeah, but the adults won't like us coming out here, they barely let us leave the den without having Zazu hovering over us." Simba was starting to get tired, and he was starting to slow down. Apparently waking up extremely early did have its drawbacks. Nala always prided herself on the fact that she was always more intelligent than the future king. Of course, this was because many of the other cubs often tried to put her down since she was so close to the "handsome prince." If you actually knew Simba though, he wasn't all that handsome, or desirable in the least. At least that's what Nala always told them.

"Well this better be good, or else I'm gonna tell them about that time you got your head stuck in that big crack in the wall and I, alone, had to lick your face until you slid right out."

"I was only in there because you decided you wanted to test your pouncing skills while I was stretching against the wall." Simba rebuttled, sounding indignified. Then again, it's not every day that you get your head stuck in a big crevice and escape without an embarrassing tale to tell.

"Yeah, yeah. Where are we going anyway?"

"Well," Simba said dramatically, slowing his pace to a walk, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the Watering Hole."

"Wow!" Nala said aloud. This was only the third time that she had gone out of the den and into the Pride Lands. This oasis was something brand new to their still virgin eyes, and will become their future hang out. "So Simba, what are we gonna do here?"

"Well, the only thing that we can do here," Simba sneaked around the still ogling Nala, and pushed her into the shallow end of the hole. There was a rather loud shriek followed by a splashing sound which ended up with Nala desperately trying to keep her head above the water.

"Simba! Help!" The prince started to panic. The first thing his dad taught him to do when he showed him the watering hole was to swim. He thought that Sarafina would have done the same. Now he had to deal with a drowning Nala. Simba decided to throw caution to the wind and dived in after Nala. He was surprised however as he hit his chin rather hard on the stone floor, _Now I have payback for the crevice incident _Simba thought, smirking as he walked towards Nala. The lioness was so busy panicking that she was utterly shocked when Simba effortlessly grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and told her to calm down, which she reluctantly did. Once she felt her paws touch the ground, though, Nala blushed a bright shade of crimson, not believing that she almost drowned in less than a foot of water.Simba was grinning like an idiot and Nala could only look at her paws. Immediately Simba's grin was wiped from his face as a splash of water came to greet him.

"Hey!" Simba yelled.

"That was for nearly killing me!" Nala exclaimed with a hint of mischief in her voice.

"Oh yeah, well this is for sticking my head in that crack!" Simba yelled as he splashed more water into his friend's face.

They continued like this until the sun was in the middle of the sky and many of the adult lions came down to their favorite watering hole to get a drink before starting their daily activities. Of course, what they found there was one of the strangest pair of cubs splashing water all over each and laughing, enjoying themselves. Their immediate reaction was to scold the children, but upon seeing how much fun they were having, the adults decided it was best to let them be.

And so they splashed, not worrying that the adult lions were starting to get frustrated, or that Mufasa and Sarabi were currently heading in their direction. The cubs were having fun, the most fun they ever had in their short lives.

"Mufasa, can't you see what your son is doing? He's frolicking in our drinking water!" One of the lions yelled out, obviously not pleased with Simba's actions. Mufasa only had to take one look at Sarabi to know what he would do with Simba.

"I can definitely see what my son is doing," Mufasa started, walking towards the watering hole, "and I think we should all join him," the king stated jumping into the deeper end of the water and leaving the entire pride awestruck. The resulting wave alerted Simba and Nala to another presence in the water, who also noticed half pretty much the entire pride staring at them wide-eyed.

"What's everyone looking at?"

"ME!" Mufasa roared, splashing the two cubs.

"Dad!" Simba laughed, trying to get his father wet. No one noticed how Nala just sate there for a while admiring how the prince acted towards his father, and the way an errant tear found itself flowing down her cheek. She thought of how she should have been doing the same with her father, just having fun and enjoying life. Of course Simba had to ruin the moment by splashing water on her face, to which she immediately tackled him and kept the party going, with every eye within the pride watching them.

...This is why the Watering Hole would later become their favorite spot in the Pride Lands.

So what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Wish to repeatedly stab me with a blunt object? (If so then you should consider therapy)


	2. Of Kings and Vagabonds

Of Kings and Vagabonds

Nala had an epiphany. She thought that it would be a great idea to waltz up to Simba and scare him awake. She had thought this over carefully. First, she would walk over to Simba stealthily and drag him away from Sarabi's side. Then she would take him a good distance from the rest of the lions and, finally, yell loudly in his face that hyenas were falling from the sky. It wasn't exactly the best plan, but then again, Simba wasn't the brightest of all the lions in this pride. The small cub carefully pulled poor Simba to the entrance of the cave. This is where she started sucking in air to yell loudly and...

"HYENAS ARE FALLING FROM THE SKY!!!" The only fault in her masterful plan was that she only took into account Sarabi, and not the rest of the pride. Of course the comical event that occurred was epic. Simba awoke immediately from his sound slumber and started scrambling around, yelling that hyenas were falling from the sky. The lions and lionesses were rushing to the exit, trampling Nala in the process.

"Hey," Sargal, one of the smarter lions, thought aloud, "There aren't any hyenas, and there's definitely nothing falling from the sky. It's a perfectly clear sky."

"Who dare wake us from our sleep?" Rieva, an elder lioness that was far too cynical for her own good. Then again, her attitude is probably what kept her alive so long. "I require a full night's sleep in order to function properly and this little cub thinks _She_ can interrupt this for a simple laugh!"

"She wasn't even born to a lion of this pride," another lioness yelled, "What makes her think that she can just pull pranks like that. There are lions that are probably half way across the Pridelands by now." Nala was now on the verge of tears, she didn't think that this little joke would have such ramifications. She whispered a tearful _I'm sorry_ before running out of the cave and into the pridelands. What she didn't know is that the lions and lionesses who stayed in the cave were only there because they were far too lazy to get up and help in an emergency. They just stayed back and watched as the rest of the pride sacrificed themselves to protect their home.

What hurt Nala the most was the low blow Rieva gave. The cub was very sensitive about her heredity, and the fact that she wasn't a full member of the pride left a deep scar in her heart. This is why she always stayed close to the prince of Pride Rock. She felt like she truly belonged whenever Simba was speaking to her, playing with her. Nala never discussed her father with anyone, not even her own mother. _I can't believe someone would say that. I knew that the pride thought I was a "bastard child." But I thought that if I stayed close to Simba, they would stop calling me that. Now I know how this pride really feels about me._

"Nala!" Simba yelled, running over to her. He was soon followed by Mufasa and Sarafina.

"We were so worried when we saw you running. I thought you would get ravaged by hyenas." Sarafina cuddled her daughter while Mufasa and Simba walked slowly to her. Nala tensed, believing Mufasa would scold her and she really didn't need a lecture when she felt so vulnerable. But, when Nala saw Mufasa's sympathetic face, she knew that wasn't angry at all.

"Nala, I'm sorry for what those lionesses said about you. You must understand that we have not had young cubs for a long period of time, and many of the older pride members forget how children can be. But this does not make what they said right in any way. Always remember that even though your father was a rogue, you are to be respected as a full pride member, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise. We all love you Nala, your mother, my son, and.." Mufasa closed in and rubbed Nala's head with his own, "I, all love you. Never forget that." The King looked down at his son and pushed him forward. "Sarafina, Simba wanted to know if Nala and he could go play by the watering hole."

Said lioness looked down into her daughter's eyes and looked for the signal. Nala nodded a timid yes and Sarafina gave her one last lick before releasing her to Simba and watching them run, laughing into the sunset.

"You know," Mufasa said, smiling at the sight of the laughing cubs, "If she grows to look anything like you, she'll be a beautiful lioness."

"Likewise for your son," Sarafina stated knowingly.

Mufasa hesitated for a moment before revealing his thoughts. "I could only wish that I had such a strong friendship with another at such a young age. I have a strong feeling that they will fall in love as they grow."

"Do you wish to betroth my daughter to Simba?" Sarafina looked at Mufasa with shock in her eyes. Although Simba was a great match for Nala, and anyone with eyes could see that, she did not want to limit her daughter to only one lion.

"No, I would never do something like that. Betrothal was something that my father changed, so that I could marry the one I loved, not the one who had the best standing. It is still hard for me to believe that I am king. I can still remember my father waking me up early as to show me the wide range of the Pride Lands without alerting Taka, as if it were only yesterday. Now here I am, King of this land with my own son."

"It should be easier this time around, especially since there is no other heir to the throne. You won't have to make the hard choice between siblings."

"Very true. I'm going to continue my patrol for the day, and don't worry, Simba would never put your daughter in danger."

"Well if he's anything like you, then my daughter will probably come back crying about how she was almost eaten by an elephant." Sarabi gave a light smirk.

"Hey, that was just one time and I thought we could get a free ride." Mufasa also smirked, remebering the time that he had purposefully pounced an elephant to show off in front of the two lionesses that day. Of course, a 10 pound cub pouncing a 2 ton elephant didn't exactly turn out the way Mufasa had predicted. The elephant had scooped up Sarafina with its trunk by accident and Sarabi and he had to chase the mammal until it finally raised its trunk up to drink some water. Sarafina ran home crying to her parents, and needless to say, Mufasa was in big trouble. Thankfully Sarabi got off clean and she sneaked into Mufasa's hiding spot where they talked for hours. "I still can't believe you thought that elephant would eat you. You should have known they were herbivores before you screamed bloody murder."

"Well you chased me all the way didn't you?"

"Touché." With this Mufasa left to complete his rounds. Sarafina went back to Pride Rock and glared at every lion and lioness there.

Simba had walked a little too far ahead, so he decided to look back to see where Nala was. She was just standing there, with her head down and tears streaming down her face. The sun was barely starting to rise as Simba gathered enough courage to walk towards her and try to help comfort her.

"Nala, don't cry like that." The small lioness looked up into the eyes of her only friend, "You shouldn't worry about what all the other lions say. My dad's the king, so if he likes you, then everyone likes you."

"I'd like that to be true Simba, but that's not the way it works. All the lions and lionesses will probably be nice to me whenever your dad's around, but they'll go right back to yelling at me when your dad leaves."

"Well then I guess you're just gonna have to stick around me from now on." Simba smirked trying to get a good look at her eyes. He still didn't know it they were green or blue. Yet when he looked at the small smile that she gave him, the cub couldn't help but give her his own. "Now look at that, I've never seen a sunrise. It's beautiful."

"Yeah," Nala agreed, taking in the sight. There were no obstructions to block the blinding light, but that didn't stop the two cubs from staring right at it. The various shades of orange littering the sky as the morning chorus sang its welcoming song.

"Let's go sit under that tree," the future king said, looking over at a rather large Umbrella Thorn tree that seemed rather young as, upon approaching it, the thorns were still not hard enough to harm them. It provided enough shade for them to sit under while watching the sunrise. If only they knew that this was just a fantasy for most of the lionesses who have long standing mates. It was probably the most romantic thing anyone could ever do, and Simba had done it just because he knew in his heart that this was what Nala would have wanted to see. "Don't worry Nala, my father told me that 'to know that the night must end and that the sun will rise.' I'm sure that one day all the other lionesses will like you. If not then when I become king, I'll make sure that the others have to treat you nice."

"Thank you, Simba. Really." Nala leaned into him a little bit, taking in his scent. Earthy yet still pleasant, that was definitely Simba. They stayed like that for a while before deciding to finally head over to the water hole.

The Water Hole was mainly used for, of course, drinking water. But these two cubs used were currently using it to practice swimming. Simba had had offered to give Nala swimming lessons since he really didn't want her to drown when they got older and had to go to the deeper end. Being terribly afraid of water didn't help matters much for the lioness. The second she couldn't feel the ground underneath her, she thrashed like a wild bull. The teacher was running out of patience quickly and was contemplating wether he should just give up. He swam over to Nala and demonstrated the basics of how to float, again.

"Okay look, you just gotta calm down, the more you splash the more you sink. Just stop everything and hold your breath."

"Are you crazy, I'll sink like a rock!"

"Well that's why I'm here. Go ahead try." She did as instructed with spectacular results. All she had to do was learn how actually swim, then they would be all set.

"Simba help!" she screamed as she ran out of air and started panicking again. Said prince swam lazily and dragged her to the shallow end of the Watering Hole. "You'll get it some day. Don't worry."

"Yeah, well you might be good in the water, but you're not a fish. So how good are you at pouncing?" Nala got down in standard pounce position and flicked her tail playfully.

"Oh not that great I just HA!" Simba surprised the lioness and he gained the upper hand...

..for a second, she immediately flipped him over and pinned him to the ground.

"...Got Ya."

Again what do you guys think. Is it too rushed? Do you want more? Should I just give up hope and curl in a corner? Maybe I should, but until then I'm going to try and get the third chapter up soon, but these are probably going to be somewhat short since the only time I can actually get my head anywhere near straight is during the weekends. So sorry guys but I'll try.


End file.
